Chapter 121 : Alternate Dimension

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[The eigth trial is over. All surviving players are qualified to enter the 9th floor.

Congratulations to all who remain. Please select your reward.]

[You have taken 30 lives during the trial]

[You are ranked 42/562: Reward x2.]

[Reward Option 1: +2 Challenge Tokens]
[Reward Option 2: +2 Ignore Challenge Tokens]
[Reward Option 3: +2 Extra Lives (valid for the 12th, 16th, and 20th trials)]

Sora frowned at the rewards, sensing the increasing complexity of these choices.

'What kind of rewards are these… Challenge tokens and Ignore Challenge tokens… These two must be connected somehow. Maybe it’s a way for players to take each other’s rewards, giving an edge to the powerful and high-level players. The Ignore Challenge Token might help players who aren’t specialized in duels.'

Sora was aware that he could not beat every player who could challenge him. However, he didn't know if it was necessary to challenge others, or what such challenge meant, so he was also not tempted to challenge others for now.

When he looked at the last option, he raised an eyebrow. This seemed tailored for the more dangerous PvP trials ahead, giving extra chances to players confident they wouldn’t need to rely on the other rewards.

Weighing his options, he made his choice.

[You have obtained +2 Ignore Challenge Tokens]

[Ignore Challenge Token]

[Description: After succeeding in a trial, you may ignore one challenge from another player seeking your place in the Ascension Tower.]

Sora was startled, realizing the implications of the token. 'Don’t tell me players who fail a trial can challenge those who succeed. That’s so unfair!'

He glanced over at Emily and Kara, who were slowly fading from view beside him, and gave them a quick wave.

[Liang He has sent a friend request]

[Salim Msakni has sent a friend request]

[Rahim Khlif has sent a friend request]

Sora accepted all the friend requests and summoned his familiars. Checking Hiyoko’s progress, he felt happy with her improvements. Netsu’s mood, however, had plummeted after several battles where his impact had been minimal.

Using the time he had at his disposal, Sora focused on [Condensing] and [Crystallizing] his mana, waiting until the last moment to enter the 9th floor.

During the 9th trial, he chose the extreme difficulty upon realizing that he would face enemies using elemental attacks. Hidden behind a barrier, his opponents were protected by the tower, and his only task was to survive their assaults.

Relying on his impressive elemental resistance, he easily passed the first ten rounds. By the 11th round, he summoned his [Elemental Nexus] and even took the opportunity to experiment with its power.

The [Elemental Nexus] seemed to be the ideal tool for gaining control over his enemies' elemental attacks once they were released, allowing him to turn the tide with ease.

However, when he encountered an enemy specializing in the [Spatial Element] on the 16th round, he found himself pushed to the brink of defeat. His lack of understanding of the element, along with his weak resistance to it, left him running for his life.

Desperately trying every elemental body he had, he could only dodge in frustration, as each one proved ineffective against the Spatial Element’s power. It seemed the [Spatial Element] overwhelmed each of the basic five elements.

Guided by his [Mana Customization], he managed to envelop his hand with the [Elemental Nexus], shaping it like a glove, he realized this power might be more adaptable than he initially thought.

After some struggle, he succeeded in forming a small shield out of the [Elemental Nexus], which he used to defend himself against the unending [Spatial Element] attacks.

Spotting a group of three enemies, each controlling a familiar element, he sighed in relief when the 17th wave appeared..

Surviving 20th round against the five elements, he left the trial.

[You have survived 20 rounds in the 9th floor trial, Solo mode, Extreme difficulty.]

[Total points accumulated in the trial: 1.330,790 points.]

[Level up!] 
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]

[Remaining candidates in the 1st floor trial: 2]

After a while, he checked the ranking.
[Floor 1: Rank 1/4320]
[Floor 2: Rank 122/3456]
[Floor 3: Rank 6/2592]
[Floor 4: Rank 1/400 (Group Rank)]
[Floor 5: Rank 3/1500]
[Floor 6: Rank 52/1125]
[Floor 7: Rank 1/843]
[Floor 8: Rank 42/562]
[Floor 9: Rank 3/422]

Surprised to see he had only taken third place, Sora thought, 'Maybe an elemental race player or an Elemental Specialist took the first two spots... Damn it, I thought this trial would give me a chance to get first place again.'

Dismissing the negative thoughts, he took a moment to appreciate the five levels he’d gained from the trial, feeling his strength rising. He pushed his power to the limit, making the most of the time he had in the waiting room to push his power to a new level.

After pushing himself and accumulating mana , he entered the 10th floor, only to be greeted by a surprising scene.

[Welcome to the Challenge room.]

[Players who have been eliminated can challenge someone who has passed the trial on the previous floor.

Use Ignore Challenge Token to ignore such a challenge, and proceed to the next floor]

Looking around, Sora saw hundreds of players gathered nearby. A strange phenomenon seemed to prevent anyone from speaking, creating a strange scene of a silent crowd.

Across the room, he noticed over a hundred players staring intently at players from his side, himself included. 'They must be the ones eliminated…' he thought, scanning the crowd for any familiar faces.

Sora spotted several familiar faces among the eliminated players: Kim Dong, Brodus, Sollmunn, the Dark Elf specialized in Telekinesis, and others he’d encountered in previous trials.

Scanning his own side, he was relieved to find many humans among the survivors. Elemental Race players had clearly excelled as well, gathering en masse.
However, when he noticed only one qualified Orc player and a pair of Werewolves, he looked at the opposite side again.

Noticing the overwhelming majority of Dwarves, Orcs and Werewolves, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Many of them, he had met before, and had been stronger than him when he was level 133.

'This tower is ruthless,' he mused, 'eliminating talents over a single weakness… Though it still leaves a backdoor for their return.'

Looking at the crowd of potential challengers, Sora grinned. 'I can’t be bothered to fight these guys. I’m out!'

Without a second thought, he activated an [Ignore Challenge Token] and prepared to move on.

...

...

Realizing after a few attempts that he couldn’t leave the Challenge Room just yet, Sora sulked.

Bored, he scanned the crowd for his allies, spotting Kara and Emily waving at him, clearly happy about his presence on the winners' side.

'We’re almost halfway to the top, Sora,' he heard Kara’s voice through their [Soul Link].

After a brief conversation with Kara, Sora received a challenge from a level 169 Werewolf. Ignoring it, he remained in the Challenge Room, watching the battles take place. The Tower seemed determined to make these fights a public spectacle, something he didn’t particularly enjoy, despite him analyzing every fighter.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he was permitted to leave the Challenge Room and proceed to the 10th floor.

[Welcome to the 10th floor of the Tower.]
[Trial: Alternate Dimension – Talents need time to grow.]
[In this alternate dimension, you will be given 5 years to grow.]
[Players will be provided with an environment suited to their needs, with the option to adjust the settings every month. This trial will be your reward.]
[Your level and familiar levels will be frozen for the duration of the trial! Good luck.]

Sora was in shock as he finished reading the notifications, thinking, 'This is… heaven! This Tower is fair! Forget what I thought earlier…'

He had been feeling frustrated for a while, knowing he had overwhelming talent but lacked the training to match it. With this time ahead of him, he finally had the chance to bridge that gap.

Calming himself, he began organizing his thoughts, carefully reviewing his strengths and weaknesses to make the most of this opportunity.

[Prestige] was his innate skill, though he had no idea if he could further develop this aspect of his strength.

He had absorbed all the [Soul Power] contained in his [Soul Pearls], reaching a [Soul Level] of 1000, and reserved 200 Soul Pearls in case he needed to craft specific items beyond his bow and sledgehammer.

[Mana Evolution] had refined his mana to such an extent that his regular mana now matched the strength of his [Condensed] mana from around level 120. He was beginning to see the potential here, understanding that with more focus on evolving his mana and perfecting his [Crystallized] and [Condensed] forms, he could push himself to new heights.

Something interesting was that he needed only a few minutes of focused thought to create a new skill tailored to his immediate needs. From conversations with Kara, he’d learned that this adaptability wasn’t common—it seemed to be tied to his high talent level and peerless mana control.

It was also the key to working on the elements. He had access to the Dark and Light elements for a while, but he never bothered learning them, not even having basic mastery over them. With [Elemental Nexus] and his new [Spatial Element], he already had enough on his plate..

[Eternal Body Craft] was his other Supreme Skill, and the key to his overwhelming power. Combining it with [Mana Evolution] had been the key to reaching his current maximum power.

When considering his weaknesses, he had many.

His mental power was an area where he was vulnerable, and he knew it. He wanted to develop a Supreme Skill focused on mental fortitude, something that could shield him from unexpected mental attacks. Without it, he feared his life would be cut short.

His overwhelming amount of low level skill was also holding him back, and he wanted a way to improve his fighting style, and find variations to defeat all kinds of opponents.

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